流失文物马首铜像回家

Lost treasure returns home

流失文物马首铜像回家

A bronze horse head sculpture, a treasure from China's Old Summer Palace that went missing after an Anglo-French allied forces' looting 160 years ago, returned to its original palace home Tuesday.

12月1日，圆明园马首铜像正式回归。160年前，英法联军抢掠焚毁圆明园后，该文物流失海外。

It is the first time that a lost important cultural relic from the Old Summer Palace, or "Yuanmingyuan," has been returned to and housed at its original location after being repatriated from overseas.

马首铜像是圆明园流失海外重要文物中第一件回归并入藏原址的文物。

Twelve animal head sculptures once formed a zodiac water clock in Beijing's Yuanmingyuan, built by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

十二生肖兽首铜像原本是圆明园海晏堂前水力钟的主要构件，铸造于清朝乾隆年间。

The originals were looted from the royal garden by Anglo-French allied forces in 1860 during the Second Opium War (1856-1860).

1860年，第二次鸦片战争期间，圆明园被英法联军抢掠焚毁，12尊兽首流失海外。

The horse head, designed by Italian artist Giuseppe Castiglione and made by royal craftsmen, is an artistic blend of East and West.

马首铜像由意大利艺术家郎世宁设计，由宫廷匠师精工制作，融合东西方艺术风格。

Macao billionaire Stanley Ho bought the bronze horse head and decided to donate it to the National Cultural Heritage Administration and return it to its original home.

澳门亿万富豪何鸿燊购得马首铜像并决定将其捐赠给国家文物局，让它回归故里。